October 31, 2011

Dear Family,

Wow, mom, that was a really awesome letter!!***  Patty and Luis definitely did get married and I was able to perform the baptism for Luis after church.  It is really, really amazing how the Lord works isn't it?  Last night when we were having the little wedding reception with Luis, Patty and their family (pictures attatched), I was looking around and thinking of all the miracles I had seen and been apart of with this family.  I remember the first time that Elder Faldmo and I talked to Ester when she was getting the mail with little Antonio in his batman shirt.  I can already see the results and blessings that have stemmed from that first contact and they are monumental.  Luis and Ester were literally about to split up because there hadn't been a day for years that they hadn't fought and that Luis hadn't had a 12-pack of beer.   But now they are so happy, and they always thank me for the role I played in their reactivation and in their marriage.  Ester even calls me an angel!!!  This is one of those families that I KNOW I was sent to Phoenix for -- I am going to miss them a lot.

The reason that I say I'll miss them is because I am being transferred!!  The best part is that I am staying in Phoenix!!  YES!!!  I am going to be in the same Stake I'm in right now but in the Branch just south of here which is legit, downtown Phoenix and is loaded with projects, so I am sure to have some good stories (I'll still be on my bike too!!!).  My new companion's name is Elder Camarillo from LA California.  He just trained the last two transfers so I am going to be his "greeniebraker" as they call it in the mission.  He is a Chicano (Hispanic born in America) so we will be able to talk in Spanish all of the time!!

The other picture I sent is of my favorite little kid EVER!!!  His name is Antonio, and he's Luis and Patty's youngest son.  He is so crazy and is never, ever sitting down.  During Sacrament Meeting he always runs around and crawls under the pews.  I always tell Patty and Luis that I want one of my kids to be just like Antonio, and they always ask if I'm sure about that when he's going crazy (hahaha).

I hope that you are enjoying your early winter in CT.  It just barely started to get a bit cooler down here.  I am starting to see the snowbirds again . . . they are really bad drivers.  I hope everything is going well in CT.

Love,

Elder Kinney

***(This is part of the email I sent to Mike today telling him about the little miracle that happened last week.)

Okay, so I've saved the best story for last.  As we've read your letters over the months, you've told us about some situations where we've wondered if we should help out in some way.  When dad and I were out to dinner for our 23rd anniversary, he expressed to me that we should be able to help out your investigators from time to time, and I said I agreed, but wondered if there were mission guidelines that needed to be followed (maybe the Mission President doesn't want the investigators to become dependent upon the missionaries for financial support or something).  Anyway, I finally said, "If Mike asks, then I think it would be okay to help out," and dad agreed.  So two days later I get last week's email from you and, low and behold, you asked for $72 for Patty and Luis to buy a marriage license.  What you don't know, is that I apparently over-paid one of the doctors you saw from your bike accident last year, and they mailed a reimbursement check that had just come in the mail, made out to Michael Forrest Kinney for . . . guess how much . . . $72.69!  Maybe it's a little miracle (it's not like we wouldn't have sent you $72 anyway), but it's a miracle nonetheless.  The hairs raised up on my neck and as soon as I finished reading your email, I raced the check to the bank to deposit it into your account.